The EU has set itself on an ambitious pathway to decarbonise its economy by the middle of the century. Achievement of this net-zero climate ambition by 2050 will require the considerable quantities of CO2 emitted by industrial processes to be captured and permanently stored. In addition, CO2 must be captured from the air and from biogenic sources for use as a feedstock to replace products that release greenhouse gases and to compensate for residual emissions.
The business case for industry to encourage investment in CCS is still largely absent, given the upfront costs involved along the entire value chain. This makes the rollout and scale-up of CCS dependent upon the support and leadership of governments in Member States, with the help of European-level policy mechanisms that can facilitate progress.